Granola Bar Devotional: Rebuke Me

Here is my newest Granola Bar Devotional. Go here to check out more!

Rebuke Me!

I was talking to my twin sister about a concern I had with a particular topic. She wisely told me that my opinion might be judgmental and that I should probably keep it to myself. I was upset at first because I thought, Surely, my opinion is godly and right. However, her loving rebuke stayed in my mind; and throughout the next several days, I came into contact with three different friends on separate occasions. This particular topic that my sister advised me on came up. Though my opinion popped into my head – and I still as of yet didn’t see a problem with it – I kept it to myself. During the conversation with each friend, I had a chance to voice my “godly and right” opinion, but I respected my sister’s judgment and I trusted her counsel. In retrospect, I realized that though my opinion was “right” for me, it wasn’t necessarily right for everyone. I discovered that I was transferring the Holy Spirit’s will towards my life onto others. What was a godly yoke for me, would have been a religious burden for my friends. I am so thankful that I listened to my sister, and I am proud of myself that I didn’t allow my feelings to get in the way of God’s protection. I will never be perfect, and I will always make mistakes. But I will continually be on the lookout for God’s reprimand because I know that He is trying to prepare me for victory ahead.

Memory Verse:
“The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry, and a wise friend's timely reprimand is like a gold ring slipped on your finger.”
- Proverbs 25.11 (The Message)

Prayer Prompt:
“Lord, I value Your rebuke, and I am honored that You would take time to teach me. Thank You for surrounding me with wise family and friends who are willing to speak Your truth into my life. Please help me to joyfully take reprimands because I know that they will make me wiser….”

Contributing Writer:
Alisa Hope Wagner

Transitions in the Road

My newest devo on GBD Ministry Site. Check out the other new ones here. If you would like to submit, go here!

I had to put my rollerblading on hold for about six years while my husband and I were growing our family. I enjoyed rollerblading a lot in my twenties, and it was so nice to finally be able to strap on my blades and hit the pavement. It took me several days of skating for my body and mind to remember how it was done.

I also noticed that I was a lot more carful skating than when I was in my twenties. I have a lot more responsibilities as a wife, mother and Jesus disciple; and I have people counting on me. Though I know life will go on as usual even if I did get hurt, I wasn’t going to purposely jump into any life-halting accidents.

As I rollerbladed, I was very careful during the transitions in the road. When the sidewalk gave way to the street, there were lots of bumps and rocks on my path. I had to focus my eyes directly on the path in front of me and slow down so I wouldn’t fall. Once I crossed the street and continued back on the sidewalk, I was able to look to the horizon and skate faster. Right before skating through another intersection, I felt the Holy Spirit say, “Be careful during the transitions in the road.”

God knows me so well. I tend to get an idea of God’s vision for me and charge full-steam ahead. However, when my life is in transition, I need to be cautious. I must pray about every detail, because the Enemy puts out many stumbling blocks when he thinks we are not looking. The Enemy doesn’t want us to change. He wants us to fall flat on our faces and give up. Transitions in our spiritual walk are very special. They signify a growth into Christlikeness; however, they are a bit chaotic.

As God entrusts us with more, we need to take great pains to seek God’s will more. As Christian leaders, people are looking to us for guidance. If we see a transition in the road, we need to slow down, stay clear of the bumps and rocks and keep our eyes focused on God.

Memory Verse:
“He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.”
- Proverbs 2.7-8

Prayer Prompt:
“Father, please guide me every day, especially during seasons of transition in my life. I want to continuously cling to You, Lord, so I do not absently fall into the Enemy’s schemes. I know that You will protect me if I stay obedient to Your guidance. And If I do happen to fall, You provide me with grace and mercy to get back up and continue on my path. Reveal to me areas of my life that I haven’t sought out Your will, including…”

Contributing Writer:
Alisa Hope Wagner

Granola Bar Devotional - Zipper

Here is my latest Granola Bar Devotional. If you are interested in writing a devotional, please come check out our Info Page. You do not have to be a writer to submit; you just have to be willing to share what God is doing in your life!

As I watched my five year old son try to zip up his jacket, I grew impatient. I had all the kids ready to get into the car, but he was holding up our exit. We were in our third minute of waiting when I asked, “Can I please zip it for you?”

He kept his focus on his jacket and replied, “No. I want to do it by myself.” He was having trouble connecting the jacket zipper on the bottom, and I was tempted to just do that for him and let him zip it the rest of the way. But before I could reach down to help him, I had a flashback of my childhood.

I distinctly remembered one morning when I was determined to zip up my own jacket. I saw myself standing in the hallway of my childhood home concentrating solely on that zipper. I don’t remember how long it took me, but I know I was there for a while. I wouldn’t budge until I figured it out!

Many times as Christians, we forget about the struggles we went through to gain the wisdom and skills that God desired for us. We see others who are smack-dab in the middle of a God-ordained teaching season, and we become impatient with them. We see them struggling in an area that we have found victory, and we ridicule them or make them feel guilty. We become impatient and try to take over their valuable learning lesson.

Even worse, we experience a “holier-than-thou” attitude and think that somehow we have “arrived” spiritually. The truth of the matter is, however, we are all designed uniquely and have different backgrounds/upbringings that God is shaping and molding according to His timeline.

Each of us will be held-up in a learning season during anointed moments on our path toward heaven. If we would simply decide to extend each other the grace that Christ extends us, we would become holy cheerleaders instead of jeering opponents. Let us remember that we are all fools that God has made wise.

Memory Verse:
“Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”
- Proverbs 26:12 (NIV)

Prayer Prompt:
“Father, help me to be patient with those around me. Don’t ever let me forget that I am a fool without You. Show me how to offer grace to others and to myself when we are struggling with an area of our lives. Bring any one to mind that I have condemned unjustly because of my lack of mercy and grace, including . . .”

Contributing Writer:
Alisa Hope Wagner


* This Friday is First Friday Fiction! Make sure to post your fiction piece on baptism and send us the link before or on this Friday! We can't wait to see your imagination muscles at work! Also, please don't feel intimidated, insecure or apprehensive about submitting your work. There is joy in taking a step of faith for God, and He will bless your efforts. We want this writing group to be your fun monthly push out of your comfort zone!

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Granola Bar Devotional

I wanted to use my post today to highlight my devotional ministry - Granola Bar Devotional Ministry. I started this small writing group in the JANES Women's Ministry at Bay Area Fellowship. The GBD Ministry is now global, but it had its beginning in the local church. I believe if you want to start a ministry, you would not go wrong by starting it at your local church and in your local community.

I started this ministry because my women's minister was looking for more women's groups to get women plugged into the church and connected with each other. I told her that I was thinking about starting a writing group, and she said, "Why don't you write devotionals." I thought for a second and said, "Sounds good!" This was over three years ago.

I spread the word about the writing group and when the first night came for us to meet, I was so nervous! Several beautiful women came to the meeting who were leaders in our church. Let me tell you, I wanted to say, "Nevermind," and call it quits. God was pushing this introverted girl out of her comfort zone, and I felt so under qualified!

The women gathered around my dinner table, and I explained to the them what we would be doing. I told them why I was naming the ministry the Granola Bar Devotional Ministry (nutritional snacks for spiritual growth), I explained the unique design of the devotionals (small and square like compact granola bars), and I tried to act like I knew what I was doing -- which I did not!

Over three years of leading this ministry has taught me so much. I have learned that a few people can achieve a lot, that ministry should always be about reaching others, that I will never, never, never be perfect (thank You, God, for Your GRACE) and that starting a ministry is not a smooth process.

However, the most important thing I learned is that it is imperative to wait on God's timing. I found myself pushing and pushing this ministry to where I wanted it to go, and I became frustrated, exhausted and upset at God for making me do something that was so hard. I wanted to give up many times, but I later realized that God was doing a good work in me, not just through me.

A ministry should have what Joyce Meyer calls a "holy ease." Starting a ministry is not easy; but if you are frustrated with life, God and every one around you, you may not be aligned with God's plan. I struggled with this until I heard the following story on Christian radio:

A woman was driving a car through a construction zone. She was late to work and anxiously remained stopped behind eight cars waiting their turn to go down the street. A safety vehicle was slowly leading cars to the other side of the construction. The woman became so impatient that she sped around the safety vehicle and crashed.

What I learned is that God is our safety vehicle. He knows things that we don't, and He protects us from crashing. When we start a ministry, we need to make it our number one priority to seek the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, we will speed off, lose control and crash and burn! We need to find a "holy ease" when it comes to doing ministry and not worry about what the world deems as "success." God's success looks quite differently than ours.

I constantly have to test myself. If my ministry is starting to control me (my time, my emotions, my thoughts), I need to reconsider my strategy. God has told me in no uncertain terms that my role as a wife, mother and a child of God are more important than any ministry. Playing hop-scotch with my children is more important than writing a best selling Christian novel. I can never forget that!

However, in my spare time (when all the kids go to bed) I forgo the TV and write and read for my Lord. So here is a little something I wrote for the GBD Ministry. It's just a small spiritual snack, but I hope it makes you smile!

Heavenly Smiles

When I am holding my baby daughter, she gives everyone heavenly smiles. She is in my arms, and she feels the freedom to spread her sweetness to each new face that she sees. Her smiles melt the hearts of the passersby, and they always comment on how beautiful and sweet natured she is. However, when my daughter leaves my arms, her sweetness completely disappears. When someone else is holding her, she frowns and cries and lets the whole world know her displeasure. She has no more heavenly smiles to share and no more sweetness to pass out. She is completely miserable and makes those around her anxious. . . . Read the rest here!

*If you would like to make Granola Bar Devotional Ministry a part of your writing ministry, please check out our Information Page. We try to ensure that our devos have one spiritual nugget in each, and no more. We are not trying serve up a spiritual feast....just spiritual snack buffet!

This post is dedicated to the original GBD Girls: Jeannie, Tammi, Susie, Mariah, Sunny, DeeDee, Vicki, Liette and Christina.